WAR ON ILLITERACY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22583, 23 November 1936, Page 11

WAR ON ILLITERACY

CAMPAIGN IN CHINA FREE ADULT EDUCATION [from our own cork ks PON dent ] SINGAPORE, Oct. 31 Determined to wipe out illiteracy, the Ministry of Education in China has laid plans for the extensive promotion of free education among adplts, instead of only school-age children. A set of regulations governing the enforcement of free education for adults, drafted by the ministry, was approved by the 273 rd meeting of the Executive Yuan held at Killing and will soon be referred to various municipalities for execution. According to the regulations, the programme of free education for adults will include instruction in simple Chinese characters and civic subjects. When convenient, training in people's self-defence will also be conducted.

The programme is to be completed within six years, after which all adults are expected to be able to read and write simple Chinese and to have a fair amount of common knowledge required of a modern citizen. This timelimit may, however, be shortened or lengthened'to meet local circumstances. The period of instruction for each adult, the regulations stipulate, is to be from three to six months. Free schools are to be established each year at each municipality to accommodate the illiterate adults. Some of these free schools may be established within the local schools or public buildings in order to save expense, but at least half of the number required will probably be established independently. People from 16 to 30 years of age will be the first to be given the privilege of free education, but those above 30 years will be educated in course of time. Compulsion may ho used to make the adults enter schools. Each municipality is to appropriate an adequate sum of money from its education funds provided in the budget for financing the enforcement of the programme. Tests for the education scheme will be prepared by the ministry and subsidies may bo sought for the purchase of radio sets, educational films and other equipment.